The Wake

I would say that Hot Hot Heat are on fire. But that would sound stupid. And cliché.

But really, they are.

In the sweltering underground of indie rock, the British Colombian band is a few degrees above the rest. Maybe it’s because they haven’t been featured on the soundscape of The O.C. – yet. Maybe it’s because they’re from Canada – as all the “cool” bands are these days. Really though, it’s just because they’re better.

They’re not really whimsical. They’re not really dance. They’re not really Death Cab. But they’re really good. And in the grand scheme of sub-altern anti-radio, they’re tops. Now they’re releasing a new album.

It’s called Elevator. Like it’s predecessor, Make up the Breakdown, the album is a Canadian crescendo of go-have-sex-with-your-neighbor-right-now sudden sexuality. It is an ass shaking record. Which is good. Because isn’t that what Rock ‘n’ Roll is all about kids?

Recently, keyboardist / vocalist Steve Bays spoke with The Wake.

The Wake: What’s the worst part about being on a major label?

Steve: I don’t think we’ve experienced too many bad things so far. I know that at first it was a bit tricky because I felt like they [the record company] were trying to figure out what our scene was so they could package us in with all these other bands. Being all like, “Oh, you guys should tour with this band,” or you know, “Why don’t you guys do this festival?” And so we really make the point of keeping the label and our management decisions separate. It kind of took awhile to establish that. The label puts out the records and distributes them and works for them on the radio, and they do a great job of that. But when it comes to touring, or the kind of bands we want to be associated with, or the way we want to present ourselves – basically, anything creative we do. Early on we made a point to be really attached to all the creative decisions. But I mean, they’ve always given us the benefit of the doubt. And I think they’re just like, well, until you guys make a mistake. But then again, it’s kind of new.

The Wake: Would you put Hot Hot Heat songs on “The O.C.” like all these other “indie” bands?

Steve: I don’t know, we’ve never been asked that. I don’t know if they’d want us to be on it. I mean, yeah, as far as the whole kind of current indie rock climate, I’m cool with that. When I was referring to being lumped into a music scene [see above], like a few years ago when we came out, I don’t think indie rock was quite a household name yet. But you know, to be honest, I haven’t seen “The O.C.” yet. But I have heard about it and you know, it’s like, generally with anything related to music or TV shows using our songs, we’ve turned everything down so far only because it hasn’t been cool. I mean, but we’re not opposed to out of principle.

The Wake: So there’s no kind of ethical dilemma there for you?

Steve: There’s so many variables that you have control over, so I’d be lying if I said I had no problem with indie being mainstream because that’s a blanket for a thousand different decisions. I mean, we’ve been asked to be in a bunch of movies – and I might be driving a nicer car right now than a broken down ’86 Honda right now if we had. But you know, the amount of money you get from a TV show or a commercial, by the time you get your quarter of it – after management takes their 50and tax takes about 35 percent – you’re really not left with much. And if you consider how much money we spend on gear and touring, the amount of money you get for basically losing respect for yourself isn’t worth it.

The Wake: How far have you guys evolved since “Make Up the Breakdown?”

Steve: As musicians, playing almost every night, we definitely grew as musicians. So we definitely grew as musicians, but I don’t think good bands are necessarily better musicians. But I think the obvious things from being on tour, you know like experiencing the rest of the world and hearing new bands and music – that was the big thing. But also, we just want every record to be better – each time the bar is raised the more kind of effort we put into it. I think Paul and I also kind of unified on our vision of what we wanted to soundl ike at this point. Where on the first record it felt like we sort of stumbled into a new sound. Where it wasn’t quite there yet. I feel way more confident about the sound we’re getting now – I feel like it’s exactly what we’re going for. We already have ideas about the next record and things we’ll change from this one, even. But the main thing is we wanted to progress in a way that wasn’t going to alienate anyone – that we weren’t going to get ahead of ourselves.

The Wake: How much better is British Colombia?

Steve: Well, the West Coast is a lot more laid back and mellow. And it’s cool, but it drives some people crazy. And I used to think that it was great being so laid back, but after being on the road, I’m kind of used to the more fast-paced kind-of lifestyle. So it can be a little too mellow. But it’s beautiful and inspiring. I feel like the overall difference with Canada and the U.S. is like, when I’m in the U.S. I feel like it’s a look out for number one kind of thing. Whereas in Canada, I feel like it’s slightly more socialist kind of thing.